WINDSOR ESSEX CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
Student recognized by Essex-Windsor EMS

Alaina Ha can now say that she's an honorary member of the family of first responders who provide emergency care to thousands of Windsor-Essex residents every year.

A Grade 8 student at Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Elementary School, Ha was recognized on Wednesday by Essex-Windsor Emergency Medical Services for her efforts to raise awareness about accessible life-saving services for those who are Deaf and hard of hearing.

In addition to a certificate, Alaina received a challenge coin, something which is provided to every paramedic who joins an emergency medical service, but is also given out in rare circumstances to members of the public who may have gone above and beyond to support the service and its community.

"Significant events that change how we deliver prehospital care are worthy of a challenge coin," explained Justin Lammers, Chief of Essex-Windsor EMS. "It essentially says You're one of our family, thank you for your efforts and we see you as one of us.' Everybody has learned something from Alaina, who is obviously a very bright student."

That learning began earlier this year when members of Essex-Windsor EMS visited Alaina's school to provide them with CPR and other life-saving training. During that visit, Alaina - who is Deaf - brought it to the attention of the trainers that she couldn't hear the audio prompts from the Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) the students were working with. During the same session she also inquired about how someone who is Deaf would call 911 to report an emergency.

It was a situation that Paramedic Dave Thibodeau acknowledged had not been previously brought to their service's attention. Upon further investigation, they discovered that there is a service called Text With 911, which allows members of the Deaf community to register their phones in advance, so that when they place an emergency call, 911 operators will know to communicate with them via text rather than orally over the phone.

Chief Lammers said that now they are aware of this service, the County of Essex will be engaging in some promotional efforts to raise awareness about it.

Besides drawing attention to the 911 issue, Alaina also wrote a letter to a company called ZOLL, which manufactures AEDs, to inquire about how they address the issue of supporting those who are Deaf.

On Wednesday Vince Gervais, Canadian sales manager for ZOLL Medical, visited the school to present Alaina with a plaque, as well as her own AED, a unit which uses a combination of text prompts and images to guide a user through the process of performing life-saving tasks.

After the presentation, Alaina and two fellow students performed a demonstration on how to use the unit for a group of younger students in the school's gymnasium. Thibodeau pointed out that at no time did Alaina need to rely on her sign language interpreter in order to perform life saving tasks on the dummy they were using.

Gervais said he found the letter that Aliana sent was very touching and detailed, and that it was important for his company to be there on Wednesday to recognize her efforts.

"It was really important for us because it showed her courage, her thoughtfulness and her insight on how the device made a huge difference for her and her community," he said.

Aliana's mother Lacey Ha, who was at the school for the presentation, said it was "amazing" for her to be recognized in such a special way.

"Alaina is just like any other kid and she just wants to learn everything she can," she said.